Saturday, 24 December 2011

The Christmas Pot Plant

I got up one morning last week and a Christmas Tree bauble had miraculously reappeared from last year. I swear I'd searched the living room top to bottom last year looking for it, but it was not to be found. Now, a week before Christmas, here it was in the middle of the carpet. Do you think Miss Elliecat might be trying to tell me something?

I didn't want to bother with a huge big tree this year, its a lot of work for one! However auntie wasn't too impressed with the no tree plan, and clearly neither was Ells, so I had to improvise a bit.

Its beginning to look a bit like Christmas... Well, just a little bit.

Now, I am still ploughing away at my Christmas sewing so I'm afraid the photo based tute for the Christmas tree block will have to wait a bit. In the mean time, I can give you the info for it.

I used 5 shades of green solid, a yellow, a brown, and 3 lights/decoration colours. These are the size guides for a block that measures 14.25" square finished, which I thought was a nice big size for a hot pad on the Christmas table. The pixel squares measure 0.75" finished, so cut size is 1.25" square. You'll need 18 of each green, 10 of each of the 3 colours, 1 yellow and 4 brown.

I cut all the colour squares, and kept arranging them in a random layout until I liked it. I assembled the coloured squares in horizontal rows, then joining rows that were exactly the same size too. (I couldn't be arsed doing the white in tiny wee squares! It was easier to get the colours into strips then attach white to either end.)

The white sizes are as follows, listed top to bottom

1 x 14.75" x 1.25"

2 x 7.25" x 1.25"

2 x 6.5" x 2"

2 x 5.75" x 2"

2 x 5" x 2"

2 x 4.25" x 2"

2 x 3.5" x 2"

2 x 2.75" x 2.75"

2 x 3.5" x 1.25"

2 x 6.5" x 1.25"

2 x 7.25" x 1.25"

1 x 14.75" x 1.25"

If you wanted to do the whole thing in squares, its a 19 x 19 grid. I think it'd look pretty cool as a large cushion, 1" squares. Of course if you're a glutton for punishment clever you could do half inch squares for a 9.5" square mug rug or smaller hot pad.

I will be making it again, and when I do, I promise, honest, I will post it with photos as a tute of sorts!

Happy Christmas! I love the festive pot plant and I'm sure Elliecat has been hiding that bauble since last year, just waiting for the right moment! My friend once found a single, perfectly formed Pringle in the middle of the hall in her flat. She lives alone and hadn't had Pringles in months...we think a crack squadron of mice pushed it through the letter box ;o)

Merry Christas, Sarah & Miss Elliecat!I lol'd at the thought of Elliecat hoarding baubles! I have often lost things only to find them weeks/months later. Last time it was a needle that had buried itself in the carpet and I only found it when stabbed my foot on it!

now you know I can't see photos so I'm going to take you litterally and picture you with a 6ft tall pot plant, the kind that does wacky things to your head when you bake them into muffins or set fire to their leaves ... I can just see that all tarted up for Christmas with sparkly tinsel and an angel on top, and a very stoned Sarah sat on the floor leaning against it with an open tin of Danish butter cookies at her side ...

Sarah, you have a wonderful day tomorrow with your auntie and I hope Santa brings you lots of treats tonight! Thanks for the card and I'll be back chatting normally (for me) in a couple of days time!Merry Christmas!!

Happy Christmas! You reminded me how I always used to decorate a big swiss cheese plant we had at home - I think I preferred that to the 'proper' tree :)Psst, the Christmas tree block is so lovely that you could roll it out with lots of photos next Christmas!